Book: Wallflower in Bloom: A Fake Dating, Forced Proximity, Plus Size Small-Town RomCom by Elise Kennedy
Reviewed by Booksbystarlightandshadows
Rating: 3.5/5
Elise Kennedy is a new to me author but I am a big James Joseph fan; this is my first time listening to him in dual narration and I was not disappointed! Zoe Black was great as the sweet but not as naïve as you think Violet. Both narrators had to switch accents for various characters and did a solid job. Its a third person narrative which can sometimes take me a minute to click with on audio but I got swept up pretty quickly.
Violet is a people pleaser through and through and I enjoyed her growth as she realised she didn't have to hide parts of herself, and that people liked her for her not just what she could do for them. I loved how Jack noticed that early on, and even when her family with the best intentions, constantly said she had to be protected, he knew that if anyone was going to get hurt, it would be him.
I love a good fake dating trope but this one threw me a little; I couldn't quite understand why Jack needed an image overhaul as we know from the start why he punched the guy at the club. There is no way PR guru Shay would have been unable to spin that one! Shay was a lot of fun - I would love to see more of her in later books somehow!
It's very Hallmark coded until it isn't - the spice was a definite gear change when it happened! The scenes were There are still plenty of rom com vibes though (and Jack's plan in the final chapter is super sweet!) but I think had the spice been part of the agreement earlier it might have felt a bit more balanced. I am here for tension between Lily and Nash though and I'm looking forward to book three (especially after that cute flash forward).
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read